Billy Dooley

William "Billy" Dooley (born 1969) is a former Irish sportsperson.^[1] He played senior hurling with the Offaly inter-county team from 1991 until 1999.

Early life

Billy Dooley was born just outside Clareen, County Offaly in 1969. The fourth youngest in a family of five boys and four girls, he was born into a family that was steeped in hurling history. His father's uncle, Tom Dooley, as well as his mother's father and uncle had all played with Offaly in the junior All-Ireland finals in 1929 and 1923 respectively. Similarly, for almost two decades Billy and his brothers Joe and Johnny formed the backbone of the Offaly senior hurling team.

Playing career

Club

Dooley, along with his four brothers, played club hurling with his local Seir Kieran club. He enjoyed some success at underage levels before winning four senior county championship titles in 1988, 1995, 1996 and 1998.

Inter-county

Dooley played with the Offaly minor and under-21 inter-county hurling teams in the late 1980s and had some success. In 1986 he came on as a substitute to win an All-Ireland medal at minor level. Dooley was a full member of the team when he won his second minor All-Ireland medal in 1988. He joined the senior panel in 1991 when he helped Offaly to win its very first National Hurling League title. Later that year he made his Leinster Championship debut.

By the mid-1990s all three Dooley brothers were playing together on the Offaly senior team. Together they won a Leinster title in 1994, before later playing in one of the most famous All-Ireland finals of all-time. With five minutes left in the game, Limerick were leading by five points. Johnny Dooley scored a goal from a 21-yard free which seemed to open the floodgates as Offaly amassed another 1-6 in the remaining few minutes. Offaly had snatched victory away from Limerick and Dooley had claimed his first All-Ireland title at senior level. Billy finished off the year by winning his first All-Star award. The Dooleys were back in 1995 winning another Leinster title, however, in the All-Ireland final victory went to Clare. It was the county’s first All-Ireland win since 1914. There was some consolation as Dooley collected a second All-Star award at the end of the year. Three years later in 1998 Offaly and the Dooleys claimed another All-Ireland title over Kilkenny, having lost the Leinster final to the same team.

In 1999, following a defeat by Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final, Dooley decided to retire from inter-county hurling.

References

Teams